


Enter: Sakura Haruno!

by mformello



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, POV Haruno Sakura, Realization, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 11:55:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7843942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mformello/pseuds/mformello





	Enter: Sakura Haruno!

I walked with Ino down the hospital hallway to Lee's room with flowers in hand to wish him well. We were all a little shaken up after going to visit Sasuke only to find that he was gone. The nurse was worked up too, but she had calmed down enough to lead us to Lee's room. She stopped at the door to Lee's room and knocked on the door.

"Lee, can we come in? Two pretty girls have come to see you!" Her voice was cheerful like before with Sasuke. She pushed the door open. She gasped, dropping the clipboard once more. "Not Lee too! Where could he have gone?" The nurse asked fanatically. "He shouldn't be able to get out of bed yet!"

"This is weird." Ino said quietly.

We looked around the room hoping to find a sign of where he could have gone to.

"Look." I pointed to the window.

The window to Lee's hospital room was open. The curtain flowed softly from the breeze. Ino and I walked over to the window. Outside was Lee was in the courtyard, dressed in pajamas, doing push ups even with his left arm and leg in a cast.

"123...124...125." Lee's voice wavered and breathed heavily. His now fragile frame was being pushed to its limit. His right arm shook from exhaustion.

"Come on." I said, before jumping out of the hospital window. Ino followed behind.

"If I cannot do 200 push ups, then I will do 300 squats." Lee said to himself. The nurse rushed to his side.

"Lee, you shouldn't be out of bed!" The nurse informed him. "What do you think you're doing?"

He ignored her worries and continued to do another push up. His right arm shook as he struggled to push himself back up.

I hurried over to Lee hoping maybe he would return to himself after seeing me.

"Lee." I whispered. I knelt down next to him rested my hand on his good shoulder.

"Keep away from me!" He yelled looking at me. "I must finish my training." He said to himself more than he said to me. It was as if he was in a trance. I fell back shocked at his reaction. This wasn't the Lee I knew.

His injuries were bad. Really bad. Well...His days as a ninja are over.

He breathed heavily. His eyes closed. His face twisted in pain.

"Just one more." Lee said through the pain before his arm gave out from under him. He collapsed onto the ground.

The nurse took over, rolling him onto his back. Poor Lee had passed out from exhaustion.

"Girls, stay with him until I get a stretcher." The nurse pushed herself to her feet.

"We will!" I answered.

The nurse disappeared into the hospital. Ino rushed over to Lee's side. Neither of us could believe what had just happened.

Ino looked at Lee with an open mouth. I closed my eyes tight trying not to cry. I reached out from Lee's hand letting the tears fall.

"Why?" I asked. "Why are boys like this? Why do they push themselves to the limit?"

"How am I supposed to know? I'm not a boy." Ino retorted.

I snorted at Ino's comment. "Right, sorry." I answered.

The nurse came back with another nurse and a stretcher.

"Has his state changed at all?" The first nurse asked.

"No, ma'am." I answered. I let go of Lee's hand, standing up. Ino stood next to me. We watched Lee get hauled onto the stretcher.

"You can drop the flowers off, but after that it's best if you girls go home."

I hadn't noticed the sun was setting. We followed the two nurses to Lee's room. Ino and I left our flowers in a vase on the table by Lee's bed.

"Ready?" Ino asked.

"Yeah." I said somberly. I tucked a stray pink hair behind my ear. I followed Ino to the door.

Ino opened the door to the hospital room holding it open for me. I couldn't leave Lee like this.

"Hey, aren't you coming?" Ino asked turning back to me.

"I'm going to ask the nurse if I can stay." She give me a look of confusion, then pitied. "You know, to make sure he doesn't sneak out again."

Ino nodded her head. She must have known that wasn't the full reason why I wanted to stay. She said her goodbye and left me alone with Lee in the dimly lit hospital room.

I closed the window. The night air was cooling off the room. I didn't want Lee to catch a cold. I went to the closet for a spare blanket, throwing it on the chair next to Lee's bed. I left the room and headed for the nurses' station.

"Excuse me?"

The nurse from earlier turned to me.

"Anything I can help you with, sweetie?" She looked tired from the long day at work.

"Is it alright if I say with Lee tonight? Just to make sure he's okay?"

She smiled sadly at me. "Sure thing."

"Thank you." I smiled and went back to Lee's room.

The hospital seemed even drearier at night. The lights were dimmed to let people sleep. There was no hum of people chattering or the footsteps of doctors and nurses. There was only the sound of machines and my footsteps on the tiled floor.

I opened Lee's door and stepped inside.

"Sakura?" Lee asked in a strained voice. He was shocked to see me there.

"Hey, Lee." I smiled. He looked over at the vase that held the two flowers. "Ino and I got them for you."

Lee nodded in thanks. He looked exhausted. His face was pale and he was struggling to stay awake.

"Why not try to get some sleep? You've had a long day."

"Sakura, will you stay with me?" He reached out for me with his right hand.

"I was planning on it." I assured him. I went to the chair by his bed and held his hand in mine.

"Sakura, you can share the bed with me. I'm sure the chair isn't the best place to sleep, especially after the preliminary round of the chunin exam."

"You sure?" I hesitated. I put all my hard work and effort into defeating Ino only to be tied with her. My body still ached from the match.

"Absolutely." Lee flashed his signature smile.

What a dork.

But at least he was back to his old self.

He scooted over the best he could in the small hospital bed. I laid down while being mindful of his injuries. The hospital bed was really only meant for one person so fitting in together meant me having to cuddle up next to Lee. I laid my arm across his chest and nestled my head into the crook of his neck.

"You comfortable?" I asked in reassurance.

"Yes." Lee wrapped his good arm around me. He must have felt like he was in Heaven in that moment despite all that happened.

"Good night, Lee." I yawned.

"Good night, Sakura." He answered happily.

I laid in the small hospital bed with Lee. I couldn't sleep. So instead I let my mind wander and listened to the beating of Lee's heart.

So much had happened during Ino and I's match at the preliminary Chunin Exam. I had come to a realization during our match. I never liked Sasuke the way Ino did and I never would.

Ino was my idol.

My friend.

My frienemy.

In the end, she would also be the one I inspired to be. I grew up not knowing my place. I always believed I would be an outcast. A flower that would never burst into bloom. Ino showed me who I could be. A flower that could be the most beautiful of them all.

As we grew, everything became a competition because of our insecurities, which led to my feelings for Sasuke. Though, I have come to realize that my feelings were to prove to Ino that I was good enough. Even for him, but I didn't really love him. I loved the idea of him.

It was never really about Sasuke. It was about me beating Ino.

And somewhere in this mess I realized something else...

I liked Lee.

"Sakura?" Lee asked in a hushed voice. "Are you awake?"


End file.
